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Christopher Kane: Celtic Couture Warriors

They say it’s hard to invent anything new in fashion, but Christopher Kane did in his Celtic Queen meets edgy couture collection staged Tuesday afternoon in London.

Kane, one of the hottest young designers in the world, announced his intentions with his opening look, an anthracite cashmere dress that seemed light years away from his previous, urban-based collections.

But it made clear his idea of using Aran Island sweater patterns in curvy wool jackets, side split dresses and mini boleros, composed of cashmere by Johnstons from the designer’s own native Scotland.

He took the Celtic twists and weaves and reproduced them brilliantly in medieval tunics, cool bibs, and super sexy, got-to-have jackets.

But the key to this excellent collection was the fabric sampling; like a Hip Hop DJ, Kane mixes unexpected combos of materials and historical references to come up with clothes that are defiantly new. Single looks have chiffon, metal, leather and cashmere combinations but always looked coherent.

His tunics were metal, but paired with chiffon skirts covered in paillettes and sequins; his lady of the highland castle wraps were cashmere but the breastplates were in silver.

“Orlando, Vivienne Wolf and all that,” Kane told FWD was his inspiration, as a mob swirled around him in backstage.

Kane is such a clever designer that even though he works simply with his sister Tammy, his clothes frequently reach haute couture quality. A pair of jackets – one in beige, the other black - composed of an uncanny trim cut into wood cutout patterns were worthy of any top Paris atelier.

Kane also sent out some touch chic heels that anchored the elaborately feminine aesthetic of this first rate show, which earned a huge applause in the basement of Westminster University where it was staged.

And rightly so, this was the best looking and most inventive collection seen so far this month in the international season, far surpassing anything we’ve seen in New York or London.

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